To create a VBScript that speaks the weather forecast, you’ll need to access a weather API to fetch the forecast data and then use the Windows text-to-speech functionality to speak it out loud. Unlike our other text-to-speech tutorials for Windows 7, such as Let your PC speak what you want while shutting down with a timer, in this kind of use-case, accessing a weather API directly from VBScript is not straightforward due to limitations in VBScript’s capabilities.
However, we can achieve this by using an external programming language like Python to fetch the weather forecast from an API and then execute the Python script from VBScript to speak the forecast using the Windows text-to-speech engine. You can execute this script from Windows Desktop. Executing this on the logon screen is possible via the Windows task scheduler.
Available Weather Services Which Provide API
There are several weather APIs available to developers, providing access to weather data such as current conditions, forecasts, historical data, and more. These are used by various Smartphone brands.
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OpenWeatherMap provides weather data for any location in the world, including current weather, forecasts, and historical data. It offers both free and paid plans with various features and usage limits. In this tutorial, we will use this one.
Weatherstack offers real-time and historical weather data for global locations. It provides current weather, forecasts, and historical weather data, along with features like weather alerts and astronomical data. Weatherstack offers free and paid plans with different levels of access and features. WeatherAPI provides weather data for global locations, including current weather, forecasts, and historical weather data. It offers both free and paid plans with different levels of access and features.
AccuWeather offers a suite of APIs for accessing weather data, including current conditions, forecasts, and severe weather alerts. It provides access to weather data for global locations and offers both free and paid plans with various features. Weatherbit offers weather data APIs for global locations, including current weather, forecasts, and historical weather data. It provides access to various weather parameters and offers both free and paid plans with different levels of access and features. ClimaCell offers hyper-accurate weather data through its APIs, including current conditions, forecasts, and historical weather data. It provides access to weather data for global locations and offers both free and paid plans with different features.
These are just a few examples of weather APIs available to developers. Depending on your specific requirements, you may choose a weather API that best fits your needs in terms of data coverage, accuracy, features, pricing, and usage limits.
Create a Python Script to Fetch the Weather Forecast
First, create a Python script to fetch the weather forecast using an API. Below is an example using the OpenWeatherMap API:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 | import requests import pyttsx3 def get_weather_forecast(api_key, city): url = f"http://api.openweathermap.org/data/2.5/weather?q={city}&appid={api_key}&units=metric" response = requests.get(url) data = response.json() if data["cod"] == 200: weather = data["weather"][0]["description"] temperature = data["main"]["temp"] return f"The weather forecast for {city} is {weather} with a temperature of {temperature} degrees Celsius." else: return "Unable to fetch weather forecast." def speak_text(text): engine = pyttsx3.init() engine.say(text) engine.runAndWait() api_key = "YOUR_API_KEY" city = "YOUR_CITY" weather_forecast = get_weather_forecast(api_key, city) speak_text(weather_forecast) |
Save this file as weather_forecast.py. Near the end of this file, you’ll find two lines:
1 2 | api_key = "YOUR_API_KEY" city = "YOUR_CITY" |
“YOUR_API_KEY” is the key from OpenWeatherMap’s website. You have to sign up on their website and get the free API from the dashboard.
“YOUR_CITY” is your city, such as Kolkata, Paris, London etc.
To execute this Python script, Python 3 and pip must be installed on your Windows PC. You need to install the pyttsx3 package by running this command:
1 | py -m pip install pyttsx3 |
You can test this script by running:
1 | py weather_forecast.py |
Create a VB Script
Now, create a VBScript to execute the Python script and speak the weather forecast:
1 2 3 4 5 | ' Create a shell object to execute Python script Set shell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell") ' Execute the Python script shell.Run "python C:\path\to\weather_forecast.py", 0, True |
Save the VBScript as speak_weather_forecast.vbs.
Replace “C:\path\to\weather_forecast.py” with the actual path to the Python script.
Double-click the VBScript file to run it. It will execute the Python script, fetch the weather forecast, and speak it using the Windows text-to-speech engine.
You can use this set of scripts for various purposes, such as to execute this after login.
